The car required a complete exhaust system, complete brake system rebuild including all hydraulic components, power steering pressure hose, radiator, water pump, belts, hoses, major tune up and alternator replacement.
Oil leaks developed soon after the car was obtained because the seals and gaskets had dried out due to the lack of use of it's previous owner.
This was a classically styled vehicle that had the same lines and style features of Ford's larger luxury cars from the mid 70's.
The car was purchased from an elderly owner just as it was about to be sent to the scrap yard as nobody else was interested in purchasing it. The car was 16 years old and only had 45,000 original Kilometers on the odometer. The car had not been well maintained over the previous years of its life due to the little use it saw yearly. Once the problems above were corrected the car was an excellent performer and very reliable. No further mechanical faults developed. Ride, handling, comfort were adequate for a car of this size and cost. Not a luxury car by any stretch, but not a stripper either. The 302 V-8 had more than enough torque to give the car great acceleration. Gas mileage was a bit low, but for a $51.00 car, who cares?
I cannot blame the manufacturer of this car for any of its faults. The repairs that were initially done were not a result of the quality of the car, but its age and neglect.
The only real fault with this car was the inside of the windows would fog up on the inside if there were one or more passengers in the car. Air conditioning would have helped.
Absolutely no rust on the chassis or the body. This was a North American Ford Granada, not the British model!!
FYI, horsepower is what gives you quick acceleration. Torque is what actually moves the car. So a Honda Civic would have trouble towing a big trailer because it has little torque. The Ford Granada would tow a trailer easily because it has a V8 with lotsa torque. Horsepower is how fast the engine can make that torque, so it means how fast the car goes from 0-60:-)
It depends what he means what he means by acceleration, if he means how hard it throws it against his seat from a dead stop then torque is the force allowing this. In fact if he means how hard it will throw him to his seat at nearly any speed, than torque is that force. It is more complex than one or the other, since horsepower is torque x RPM /5252. So if he means how fast he accelerates in the quarter mile, then having the high torque over a greater RPM band, ie. higher horsepower would allow better over all acceleration, but like I said, if he means how hard he hits his seat back when he tromps it, then this is torque.
If you still have this car please e-mail me I might be interested in buying it e-mail address pendulum90@hotmail.com.
I bought a 1979 Granada Ghia 6 cylinder 250 in '92. She has been the most dependable car I have ever had. She's got 600,000 miles on her, and still hums like a top. Yes, she's starting to show her age, but still very dependable. My goal is to restore her inside and out, but I cannot find too much information on this car to gain parts or information. I wouldn't take a million dollars for this car, truly one of Ford's rare "jewels" that has gotten little recognition. I call her my "Baby Lincoln". Can anyone out there help me find some good restoration sources? My email in scottgraham007@yahoo.com.
If you take care of your Granada, it will last forever. It is true!
There's an organization for owners of the North American Ford Granada/Mercury Monarch/Lincoln Versailles (bet you didn't know there was a Lincoln version of the Granada, did you?).
http://www.gmv-registry.com/
My first car was a '77 Monarch that I got from my grandfather in '89. Four door silver with red top and the 130HP 301ci V8. Rust eventually killed it, but the thing was a tank.
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